Although websites such as Facebook and MySpace experienced rapid growth during the middle of the first decade of the 21st century, some users remain unaware of the fact that the information they post online can come back to haunt them. First, employers can monitor employees who maintain a blog, photo diary, or website. Employers can look for controversial(引起争议的) employee opinions, sensitive information disclosures, or wildly inappropriate conduct. For example, a North Carolina newspaper fired one of its features writers after she created a blog on which she wrote about the strange things of her job and coworkers without signing her real name. The second unintended use of information from social networking websites is employers who check on prospective employees. A June 11, 2006 New York Times article reported that many companies use search engines and social networking websites such as MySpace, Xanga, and Facebook to conduct background checks on college campuses. Although the use of MySpace or Google to check a student’s background is somewhat unsettling to many undergraduates, the Times noted that the use of Facebook is especially shocking to students who believe that Facebook is limited to current students and recent alum(校友). Corporate employers are not the only people interested in college students’ lives. The third unintended use of social networking websites is college administrators who monitor the Internet — especially Facebook — for student bad behavior. For example, a college in Boston’s Back Bay expelled (除名) its student Government Association President for joining a Facebook group highly critical of a campus police sergeant. In addition, fifteen students at a state university in North Carolina faced charges in court for underage drinking because of photos that appeared on Facebook. Although more users of websites such as Facebook are becoming aware of the potential dangers of online identities, many regular users still fail to take there basic security precautions(警惕). First, only make your information available to a specific list of individuals whom you approve. Second , regularly search for potentially harmful information about yourself that may have been posted by mistake or by a disgruntled (不满的)former associate. Thrid, never post obviously offensive material will likely make its way to the wider world. By taking these simple steps, members of the digital world can realize the many benefits of e-community without experiencing some of the damaging unintended consequences. 小题1:The main purpose of the passage is to _____.
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